Responsible and Inclusive Workplace
Commitment
Noul believes that an inclusive working environment is an essential foundation for enhancing employee engagement and enabling organizational innovation and long-term growth. Accordingly, Noul respects employees' diverse social and cultural backgrounds and individuality and seeks to design systems and foster a culture in which this diversity contributes to organizational performance.
To achieve this, Noul focuses first on creating a working environment based on fair and reasonable systems and procedures and proactively managing physical, institutional and relational risks that may affect employees' engagement and growth. It also devotes attention and effort to education and awareness activities designed to embed the values of diversity and inclusion throughout the organization.
Noul also believes that employee learning and growth provide the foundation for the organization's long-term development and innovation. It is therefore strengthening training opportunities and support systems so that all employees can enhance their professional expertise and proactively respond to a changing environment. Furthermore, Noul will continue to strengthen participatory organizational operating systems so that the voices of employees with a strong fit with the organization can be meaningfully reflected in organizational operations.
Approach
We regularly assess and address risks that affect work engagement and organizational health.
We strengthen communication and participation systems so that employees' opinions and experiences are meaningfully reflected in organizational operations.
We support employee growth through training and feedback systems suited to each job level and individual need.
We continuously develop systems and a culture that embed the values of diversity and inclusion throughout the organization.
Monitoring Metrics
Gender Ratio by Position
Executives
Middle Leadership
Employees
Gender Ratio by Function
Business
Research and Development
Quality and Manufacturing
Finance and Operations
Return and Retention Rates after Parental Leave
Return Rate (Male)
1 of 2 employees
Return Rate (Female)
3 of 4 employees
Retention Rate
Rate of reassignment to roles misaligned with employees' career paths after parental leave
*The two employees who did not return voluntarily resigned during their leave. The retention rate, defined as the percentage of returning employees who remained employed for 12 months after returning, was 0% as one employee who returned in 2024 resigned while on a subsequent leave of absence. Noul will continue to improve the support environment so that employees can return to work securely after parental leave and continue their careers.
Male 25% · Female 27%
Turnover Rate
Monthly average positive response rate to the statement, "I find value and fulfillment in the work I do"
First Half
Engagement Survey Q12 Average
Second Half
Average training hours per person
Progress
Quality of Employment
Noul regularly gathers employee feedback on organizational health to manage satisfaction and well-being across the working environment. It conducts an Engagement Survey in the first and second halves of each year to analyze the organization's overall health and a weekly Pulse Survey to continuously understand energy levels and the general atmosphere of employees' everyday work.
In the 2025 Engagement Survey, the average score for job engagement-related questions was 7.04 in the first half and 7.00 in the second half on a ten-point scale, remaining at a level similar to the previous year. These results were analyzed as reflecting the combined impact of changes in the working environment as the company responded to evolving market conditions and the workload arising from the limited personnel and resources characteristic of a venture company. Written responses also consistently indicated a need for greater predictability in a rapidly changing environment and smoother communication during collaboration.
Meanwhile, the monthly average satisfaction level in the 2025 Pulse Survey increased by approximately 14% compared with 2024 and remained at around 71% throughout the year. This appears to reflect the positive effects of day-to-day collaboration among colleagues and experiences of improvement despite structural constraints. Based on these survey results, Noul has established improvement measures to enhance employee engagement, shared them with employees, and is implementing major tasks according to priority.
Key Improvement Directions
As a venture company, Noul regularly reviews its organizational structure and human resources strategy in line with changes in the business environment and the organization's growth stage. In 2025, Noul established a "Fit for Growth" strategy and reorganized its organizational structure and operating system to respond to uncertainty in the internal and external management environment. Certain roles were adjusted in line with business priorities, while operational improvements were implemented to enhance communication and collaboration efficiency. During this process, Noul carefully reviewed the alignment between the organization's strategic direction and job competencies and, following close consultation with certain employees, terminated their employment relationships.
As a result of this organizational restructuring, the turnover rate in 2025 was 43%, an increase of 14.5 percentage points from the previous year. Excluding natural departures resulting from the expiration of fixed-term contracts, the effective turnover rate was approximately 33%. Noul is currently pursuing human resources management focused on maximizing operating efficiency and enhancing employees' capabilities and contributions rather than expanding the size of the organization in line with business growth.
Going forward, Noul will continue reviewing its organizational structure, working methods and collaboration systems from a Fit for Growth perspective to strengthen organizational execution across business, development and operations. Based on a careful assessment of roles and contributions within the organization, Noul will take reasonable personnel measures while making every effort to create an environment in which employees with a strong organizational fit can engage and grow securely.
Key Improvement Directions
· Continuously review and improve the organizational structure and operating system in line with the company's growth stage
· Strengthen organizational capabilities and advance working methods in consideration of developments in AI technology
· Strengthen execution by identifying and addressing structural inefficiencies in collaboration processes
· Create a stable working environment and strengthen systems that support employee growth
Employee Capability Development
Noul's internal education and training programs are organized into four themes: Domain Knowledge, Leadership & Management, Fundamentals and Work Skill. The "Learning at Noul" E-Learning Center also makes offline training available online, creating an environment in which employees can learn flexibly. In 2025, Noul conducted a total of 39 internal training programs, with the main content as follows.
In 2026, Noul plans to systematically expand company-wide AI literacy training. It also intends to divide training tracks into basic and advanced courses and establish systems for assessing on-the-job application after completion and managing individual career histories, helping employees continuously develop their professional expertise.
Knowledge 12 programs
Programs that provide basic and advanced knowledge of each organizational function. In 2025, Noul introduced new BCM and CER training courses to support stronger product development capabilities.
Management 8 programs
Programs that support progressive growth from understanding leadership concepts to exercising leadership throughout the organization. Noul conducted quarterly training for middle leadership and management Q&A sessions.
Programs that help employees understand Noul's mission, values and philosophy and learn the mindset and conduct expected of them as employees. Noul piloted participatory content to improve understanding of its core values.
Programs that teach thinking and behavioral skills to improve work efficiency and execution. In 2025, Noul introduced company-wide training on the use of AI tools to support stronger digital capabilities.
Noul is creating an environment in which employees can actively share opinions with colleagues during their everyday work, recognize positive behavior, and develop their individual capabilities through regular conversations with leaders.
Regular feedback system
Noul operates a regular multi-rater feedback system to support the growth of employees and leadership. In 2025, Noul introduced a new leadership feedback program for function leaders, or management, creating a channel through which employees can provide feedback on management capabilities and leadership direction.
Peer recognition system
Noul operates a system through which employees can regularly share messages of appreciation and recognition with one another. Peer Feedback allows employees to freely send messages of appreciation, recognition and encouragement to their colleagues, with a total of 3,878 instances recorded in 2025. Noul also introduced the Monthly Award in 2025, allowing employees to directly nominate exemplary colleagues each month. The award recognizes employees who demonstrate the company's core values or create meaningful outcomes by embracing and overcoming challenges. A total of 56 individuals and teams were nominated during 2025.
Regular coaching and growth support
Noul operates regular conversations and coaching programs with leaders to support employee growth. All employees can review their personal strengths and areas for improvement and receive necessary support through monthly 1 on 1 meetings with their leaders. In 2025, Noul improved its internal platform for recording the content of 1 on 1 meetings, establishing a foundation for systematically documenting and managing regular conversations. The system is currently in the early stage of implementation. Noul plans to analyze its effectiveness based on operational data and continuously improve user convenience and operating efficiency.
| Type of Regular Feedback | Feedback Method and Components |
|---|---|
|
Feedback 360
Every December
|
· Target: Employees with at least four months of service · Employees exchange feedback with leaders and colleagues with whom they have worked during the year, covering 17 quantitative questions and four qualitative questions |
|
Feedback 180
Every June
|
· Target: Employees with at least three months of service · Employees exchange feedback on six open-ended questions related to job competencies and behavioral competencies with their direct leader and at least two colleagues selected by the employee |
|
Feedback 90
Every March and September
|
· Target: Employees who wish to receive feedback · Employees directly set three questions on which they would like feedback and request responses from providers of their choice |
|
Leadership Multi-Rater Feedback
Every December
|
· Target: Leaders at Noul · Quantitative and qualitative feedback based on Noul's leadership competency model, consisting of five areas and 19 detailed competencies. Each leader receives feedback from employees and their line manager |
|
Function Leader Feedback
Every December
New in 2025
|
· Target: Management, or function leaders · Function leaders receive employee feedback on their management capabilities and leadership direction |
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
As part of its mid- to long-term sustainability implementation plan, Noul established the DEI Practice Guide in December 2025. The guide was developed to help employees apply "Diversity and Inclusion," one of the core principles of Noul's Code of Conduct established in 2024, as a practical basis for judgment and conduct throughout their work and workplace life.
During the guide's development, Noul referred to DEI policies and guidelines from global companies while also reflecting the results of a survey on situations of discrimination and exclusion experienced or perceived by employees and the materiality of each issue. The guide was designed for easy use by all employees and covers the concept of DEI, the company's DEI policies and norms, situation-specific guidance for recruitment, evaluation, everyday communication and responses to problematic situations, perspectives for distinguishing discrimination from misunderstanding, and resolution procedures when issues arise.
In 2026, the guide was shared with all employees through mandatory company-wide Work Ethic Training. Noul plans to progressively expand case-based training and awareness programs in the future.
DEI Policy Framework
(What is important to us?)
As of the end of 2025, women accounted for approximately 31% of all employees, 20% of middle leadership and 29% of executives, indicating relatively low representation of women in middle leadership. Noul monitors gender representation by position every month, and the proportion of women in each position has remained within the range of natural fluctuation resulting from employee arrivals and departures.
By function, the proportion of women is higher in business and operations, while men account for a higher proportion in research and development and quality and manufacturing, which together represent more than half of all employees. Noul believes this distribution is directly and indirectly influenced by structural characteristics of Korea's science, engineering and technical workforce, where men account for a higher proportion. Leadership representation by function is distributed relatively evenly at approximately 32% to 43%, indicating that leadership is not structurally concentrated in or excluded from any particular function. The relatively low proportion of women in middle leadership is therefore analyzed as resulting from the lower proportion of female employees in research and development and quality and manufacturing roles rather than from the leadership structure itself. Given the current size of the organization, it is difficult to implement systematic corrective measures to increase women's leadership representation. However, Noul plans to continue progressive efforts to support women's leadership capabilities from a mid- to long-term perspective.
As part of these efforts, Noul has regularly operated the "Lunch Table" program since International Women's Day in March 2025. Lunch Table is a community program that supports the exchange of insights and learning among female employees. In 2025, it focused on viewing leadership-related videos and sharing the career journeys of employees within the company. On International Women's Day in 2026, Noul invited Gyeolhee Kim, a plastic surgeon at Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, to deliver a lecture entitled "Strategies for Women Leaders to Grow While Staying True to Themselves." Noul also organized a Lunch Table attended by management and female employees, providing an opportunity to freely exchange experiences and perspectives within the organization. Noul will continue to support the growth of female employees and the accumulation of leadership experience through employee participation-based community activities, with the aim of naturally increasing gender diversity in leadership positions over the mid- to long-term.
Noul operates the in-house cafe "Noul, With You," staffed by baristas with disabilities, in collaboration with the social venture HISBEANS. In 2025, the cafe's operation focused on improving the working environment, managing occupational health and safety, and strengthening connections among employees to provide baristas with disabilities with a stable working environment. Monthly meetings were held to review the barista employees' health and job stress, while a third-anniversary event for "Noul, With You" provided an opportunity for all employees to participate and support one another.
The "Golden Bell Event," which celebrates moments employees wish to commemorate together, was held 24 times during 2025, including 13 employee-led events and 11 company-led events. The program contributed to stronger connections among colleagues and the spread of a culture of mutual encouragement. The operation of "Noul, With You" was also introduced externally through a YouTube channel featuring organizational culture. In 2026, Noul plans to continue creating an environment in which its barista employees can work and grow securely.
